AS many as 1,500 students in Farnham could have their grades withheld unless a national pay dispute by a top lecturers' union is settled by May 30. Sixty per cent of lecturers at Farnham's University College for the Creative Arts (UCCA) are members of one of two teaching unions taking part in a marking boycott over pay and conditions. Some students have already been affected by difficult negotiations which have been raging since last year, and final year students are particularly worried that they may not graduate this summer. Failure to reach a deal has led to the current standoff between the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) and the University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA). NATFHE rejected an offer from UCEA on Monday of a 12 per cent pay rise over three years, claiming its demand for 23 per cent was possible due to a cash injection from top-up fees introduced this year, and would make up for two decades of poor wages. NATFHE members across the country, including those in Farnham, have resorted to a boycott on grading work which is, in the case of final year art students, usually weighted so heavily it determines the outcome of a degree. Each college and university has set a date by which work has to be marked before it is postponed, possibly until the new academic year, and UCCA has given its staff until the end of the month. Martin Pover, chairman of NATFHE's Farnham branch, said: "Local union members are getting frustrated because we're nearing crunch time and marking may have to be held back to September. "The union made its demands in October and it has taken our employers this long just to acknowledge them. They thought it would all blow over but they're horribly wrong and they're finding that out now. "The whole point of this demonstration is not about short-term gain but about consolidating teaching standards and the quality of teachers in the long term. "Low salaries mean low morale, which in turn leads to a diminuition of status and standards. We have lost out steadily over 20 years, to the point where lecturers might receive £32,000 a year for doing a job of comparable importance to doctors, who might make £100,000 a year." Mr Pover said university chancellors had petitioned for top-up fees, being introduced over three years and expected to bring in an extra £3.5 billion pounds for universities, on the basis that at least one third of the money would be spent on staff pay and conditions. He added: "This is an unique year; there is lots happening that affects the way we work and our employers have money in their pockets to sort out old problems. "I hope they see sense and make a decent offer before this situation becomes a crisis. Many students at UCCA will need to show their grades to be selected for courses at other institutions. "Staff taking part in the boycott are still giving students as much informal feedback as before, just not a number. But I'm afraid we can't help them beyond that. "NATFHE supported the National Union of Students (NUS) in opposing the introduction of top-up fees, and now it is supporting us because the students are being hit hardest by this situation." Claire Haslam is acting president of the Students' Union for all five UCCA campuses at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester until July, when she is fully invested. She said: "I met the deputy rector of the college on Monday and letters have been sent out to all students telling them what is going on. The most important thing for us is to keep up communication between the college and students. "It is still possible a deal could be reached tomorrow, but students whose graduation is affected will be asked to give feedback on a number of options as to how they would eventually like to graduate and, I am told, the college will follow their wishes." Ms Haslam added it was unlikely the college would award provisional degrees or degrees based on projected grades, as some universities have announced, as the nature of courses meant there was often not enough evidence to do so accurately before the end. A spokesman for UCCA said: "We greatly regret this national situation and are doing all we reasonably can to minimise any disruption it may cause. We hope that, for the sake of students at universities and colleges across the UK, this dispute can be brought to a speedy conclusion." Their reassurances have done little to allay the fears of some students who face the prospect of leaving university without a qualification. Chris Sai-Kwan, 21, from Hong Kong, is about to finish a three-year course and plans to apply for jobs in advertising in London. He said: "I'm presenting my final project on Monday, which could push my final mark up or down a grade, but I'm not sure if I'm going to get a mark for it. "This boycott is scary, because I'm about to go into the real world but I'm always changing my mind about what I want to do. My grades might determine whether or not I get an interview for some jobs, before they look at my portfolio." "Plus, my parents have already bought tickets to come over from Hong Kong for my graduation ceremony. Will they get a refund if it is cancelled?" Ed Barrett, 22, from Essex, is finishing a three-year animation degree this summer and wants to enroll on a Masters course at the Royal College of Art. He said: "I sympathise with the teachers not getting paid what they want, considering the money being pumped into the college. But the way they are going about this is hardest for us. "I have put blood, sweat and tears into my dissertation, which I submitted in February. Although I've had feedback on it, I haven't got a grade and my teachers can't say when, or even if, I'll get my results. "It's messing with students' minds; they are reading the comments they've been given over and over again trying to figure out whether they have passed or not."